Pregnancy Triggers Binge Eating in Some

Sept. 7, 2007 - Many women with eating disorders go into remission while pregnant, but pregnancy appears to trigger one type of
eating disorder in some, new research shows.

In one of the first large, long-term studies to examine eating disorders in
pregnancy, researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and
the University of Oslo, Norway discovered some pregnant women are more
vulnerable to binge eating disorder.

Binge eating disorder is characterized by repeated episodes of binge eating
and feelings of shame or disgust by the behavior. But sufferers do not
purge.

The study included roughly 41,000 women in Norway followed from their 18th
week of pregnancy.

While 39% of the women with binge eating disorder stopped bingeing during
pregnancy, 711 new cases of the disorder were also reported.

Lower-income and poorly educated women seemed to be particularly vulnerable
to developing the disorder during pregnancy, according to Cynthia Bulik, PhD,
who led the study team.

The long-time eating disorder researcher tells WebMD that there is good news
and bad in the findings.

"Pregnancy appears to be a window of remission for some women, but it is
also a window of risk for others," Bulik says.

Eating Disorders and Pregnancy

The ongoing trial will eventually follow 100,000 women in an effort to shed
light on the impact of eating disorders on pregnant women and their babies.

Relying on self-reported surveys, the University of North Carolina
researchers explored rates of remission, continued disordered eating, and new
cases of eating disorders among the 41,000 women who have been enrolled in the
study.

Specifically, the women were asked about four subtypes of eating disorders:
anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorder
(binge eating at least weekly), and a disorder characterized by purging without
bingeing (purging at least weekly).

Binge eating was the most commonly reported eating disorder. In the study,
1,405 women (3.5%) acknowledged engaging in the behavior before pregnancy,
1,856 (4.8%) acknowledged bingeing during pregnancy, and 779 (2%) acknowledged
bingeing both before and during pregnancy.

Of women who reported having bulimia with purging or binge eating disorder
before pregnancy, 40% and 39%, respectively, said they did not binge -- or
binge and purge -- during pregnancy.